Supplier/Buyer Network That Provides Catalog Updates

1. A computer-method of a supplier/buyer (S/B) network providing catalog updates, comprising; receiving, by the S/B network, a request for an update of product information of a catalog, comprising the S/B network scheduling a task for updating product information of the catalog comprising the S/B network periodically checking whether a buyer is requesting a product information update; receiving, by the S/B network, a profile request of a supplier from the buyer; confirming, by the S/B network, that the supplier supports product updates, comprising checking a corresponding supplier profile of the supplier after receiving the profile request of the supplier; the S/B network receiving the request for a product information update from the buyer, and requesting the product information update from the supplier, after confirming that the supplier supports product updates, and after receiving the request for the product information update from the buyer; receiving, by the S/B network, the product information update from the supplier; and updating, by the S/B network the catalog based on the product information update.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the product information update comprises at least one of product price, product availability, and product lead time.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving from each buyer a selected frequency in which a request for product information update is made, and performing the periodically checking of whether the buyer is requesting a product information update at the selected frequency.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising each supplier registering with the S/B network, wherein registration includes the supplier indicating within a supplier profile whether the supplier supports product information updates.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the S/B network receiving the product information request from the buyer server comprises the S/B network receiving the product information request for a specific product or item of the catalog.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the S/B network receiving the product information request from the buyer server comprises the S/B network receiving requests for product information for multiple products or items.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising determining whether the product information is requested for a number of products or items greater than a threshold, and after determination, breaking the request into multiple product information requests.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the S/B network requesting the product information update from supplier comprises the S/B network requesting the product information for the specific product or item of the catalog.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the S/B network receiving the product information update from the supplier comprises the supplier providing at least one of updates in product information, an indication of no change in the product information, an indication that updates in specific products are not supported.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising modifying the catalog based on the updated product information and rebuilding a catalog index.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the catalog index provides a means for allowing a buyer to search for product information of the catalog.

12. The method of claim 10 , where updated product information is available to the buyer after modifying the catalog.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein product information updates are customizable by each of a plurality of suppliers based on the buyer requesting the product information updates.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising determine whether the supplier has contracting terms with the buyer, and after determining, providing the buyer with product information updates that include lower prices than at least one other buyers that does not have contracting terms.

15. A supplier/buyer (S/B) network server that provides catalog updates, wherein the S/B network server is operative to: schedule a task for updating product information of a catalog comprising periodically checking whether a buyer is requesting a product information update; receive a profile request of at least one supplier of the S/B network server from a buyer server of the buyer; confirm that the at least one supplier supports product information updates, comprising checking a corresponding supplier profile of the supplier after receiving the profile request of the supplier; receive a request for a product information update from the buyer server, and requesting the product information update from at least one supplier server, after confirming that the at least one supplier supports product updates, and after receiving the request for the product information update from the buyer; receive the product information update from the at least one supplier server; update the catalog based on the product information update.

16. A computer-method of a supplier/buyer (S/B) network providing catalog updates, comprising; receiving, by the S/B network, a request for an update of product information of a catalog, comprising the S/B network scheduling a task for updating product information of the catalog comprising the S/B network periodically checking whether a buyer is requesting a product information update; receiving, by the S/B network, a profile request of at least one supplier from the buyer; confirming, by the S/B network, that the at least one supplier supports product updates, comprising checking a corresponding supplier profile after receiving the profile request of the supplier; S/B network receiving the request for a product information update from the buyer, and requesting the product information update from the at least one supplier, after confirming that the at least one supplier supports product updates, and after receiving the request for the product information update from the buyer; receiving, by the S/B network, the product information update from the at least one supplier comprising the S/B network receiving requests for product information for multiple products or items, breaking the request into multiple product information requests when the product information is requested for a number of products or items is greater than a threshold; and updating, by the S/B network the catalog based on the product information update.